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Just before Christmas I decided to take D to yet another pony club open jumping (in case you dont know I am well over 30 and she is over 17hh) so we tend to stand out a bit!

Anyway still been having problems with her jumping but decided all gung ho to enter the 80 cm.

Long story short I fell off, forgot to let go of rein and got dragged along.

ONLY PERSON to fall off the whole day? Even the 6 year olds managed to stay on!?

Got 24 faults in the end, the rather miserable commentator announced. Decided to go in HC and managed to get her round the second time with the comment ‘well rather a lot of faults but not quite so many as last time’….

Been a while since I was on here, D has continued to be poorly on and off, more weird symptoms – colic, raised breathing and enlarged ovaries but not necessarily together at the same time!? Why does she always colic out of hours??? Last time was new years day at 6pm! Nice!

Finally the vets decided to take her into horse-pital for a barrage of tests, drove her up there feeling like a traitor and then wailed most of the way home – partly due to leaving d but more to do with the fact i met a scaffolding lorry on a single track road and had to try and reverse the trailer 1/2 mile to a passing point all the time with him yelling ‘get an fing move on’ and tapping his watch!! Actually that is a lie, I didnt wail, I reverted to road rage all the way home! Lots of light flashing, horn honking and yelling at people ‘what the f are you doing, i have just left my ‘child’ in ‘hospital’… and relax!!

Anyway they did gastroscopy, endoscopy, ovary scan, blood tests you name it they did it. Apparently she was an ‘angel’ and didnt even need twitching and I got loads of ‘lovely mare’ comments when I went to pick her up so was brimming with pride but guess they probably say that to everyone!?

The results: drum roll…. nothing… Not an f’ing thing!!! GAH!!! all came back clear! Her white cells were low but ‘she doesnt look like a horse with a virus’ general consensus she needs to lose MORE ruddy weight (Wail!!) and they can’t find a thing.

Then a funny thing happens, vet randomly phoned last week… she has incredibly high levels of tape worm infestation??!! Which he believes has caused all of the weird symptoms (apart from ovaries clearly). Well you could have fooled me?! Tapeworm? In a horse that is such a good do-er she lives on fresh air and STILL is 100kg over weight? He said he was ‘gobsmacked’ and read the results 3 times!? Apparently she should be skin and bone!? Typical D.

So i am thrilled – hopefully this is the answer and with a double dose of equimax already done she could be colic free? Still going to be using a muzzle come the spring grass. Now she is on a strict diet soaked hay, just hifi light to eat, no cereals, lots of work etc poor pony!!

I dread to think what size she will be once she is tapeworm free!??? HELP!!! 🙂

So i have been on a high the last week or so, took D jumping a couple of weeks ago at a local indoor show and got a double clear, albeit at a snails pace trot! But first ever time we got a) into the jump off and b) a double clear!! To top it off we came ninth – out of over 40 people! WOOP!!

Followed that up with a great flatwork lesson a few days later, she was so much lighter in my hand, and then a great gridwork lesson the following weekend – no stops, no tanking – we’ve cracked it!!!

Back down to earth this weekend 😦

Took her back to the same place as where we got the double clear – was a pony club comp so course wasnt ideal for a big tank of a beast – but schooling schooling I thought, we will just pootle round and aim for a nice steady clear and no run outs (which are our forte!)

Bit of a mess of a day, ended up taking someone else (WHY did i say yes??) so got there ultra early as they were in an earlier class. Meant d was on the trailer for over an hour on her tod neighing her heart out with me singing to her (why!? I dunno!) turns out this nasty pony had taken chunks out of her all the way to the show so she had some lumps on her neck (and even more when we got back). Poor girlie, i felt so mean.

Warm up was packed and found out i was 37th so had AGES to wait, wandered her about in walk trying to keep her warm. Finally got into warm up and some local hardcores were hogging all the jumps and preventing anyone else from jumping, and making kids cry on their ponies (not me!!) because they were scaring them. Got her over a couple and she was tanking and super strong but quite calm about it I am used to it by now!

Went into arena, fence 1 i knew i was in trouble, stuck her head down really low last stride in to have a good look and then ballooned over it head somewhere between knees, same for fence two. Fence 3 (double) refused to go near first part, turned her round and booted her in – jumped first part but took exception to second so whilst landing leapt to the right and i didnt have a hope, foot go stuck in stirrup then hand got stuck in rein and i got dragged across the arena. Got up and back on (mortified!!! Only person to fall off in the whole class and average age of competitor was c.6!!?) got her round but every fence nicely set up going in, bouncy canter, last minute half a stride extra so we were on top of them, nose down, cat leap over. There is a video on you tube under my same name (darcyandme).

I went in HC and round was marginally better but she wasnt listening to me and very flat and strong (even tho it doesnt look it on the film). So upset and frustrated. I knew we weren’t ‘there’ but in the space of a few days have gone right back to the beginning, and i have been working SO hard I cant tell you. I really thought she was starting to grow up. Had sleepless night that night ummming and ahhhing. Maybe i should just focus on stressage but I want to be able to jump as well. I could never sell her but the way I feel at the moment i just want to bundle her into a trailer and dissappear somewhere, never ride her again and just pat her and give her polos every day. I am hideously competitive FOR us if you see what i mean – I don’t mind about winning as such – I just want her to prove to everyone what she can do. You could hear people muttering all the time about my riding and its NOT my ruddy riding, ok I am far from perfect but she is a lot trickier than she looks. It doesnt help that every second person wants to buy her because she is ‘so pretty’ and i think they just think I am inept!! I am SICK of being the crap one aaaarggggghhhhhhh!!!

Sorry – rant over. I am sure there will be a better day ahead? I just needed to vent my frustration!! not sure anyone even reads this blog but its quite nice to get it all down and out of my system!! Schooling schooling tonight and i WILL be a good mother and not get frustrated with her!!

She was quite tight on the left hand side, especially behind her saddle and in her poll, which explains her inability to flex to the left!!? Bless her. She had a tens machine that she was ok about once she had circled the box at 100mph and hidden behind me in the corner rather ineffectively!!

But then when the physio started on her back it was hilarious, pure comedy value. She LOVED it, she was being massaged and she suddenly started rocking back and forwards and side to side to make the massage deeper!!?? Most unlady-like but hilarious. Legs stretched wide and rocking away. Then she started ‘pointing out’ with her nose where she wanted to be rubbed next, which went on for over 40 mins!! Bless the physio she really should have charged me extra!!?? She was there for hours!!

She finally started to fall asleep and i have never seen a horse dribble like it!!?? She had her head hanging and her bottom lip all relaxed and there was a constant stream of drool!? And a puddle on the floor. Classic! She is such a lady!

Having ridden her afterwards tho i could feel SUCH a difference, so much more willing to move forward, bless her she must have been quite tight so now i feel like a terrible mother!!!?

Had a fab grid lesson on D on sunday, that put a stop to her tanking 🙂

We moved from one through to four bounces in a row, nothing bigger than 60cm a couple of times she tanked me in but then her eyes popped out of her rather large head when she saw there were four jumps in a row and not one!! 🙂 That slowed her down!!

Instructor was really thrilled with progress – said she was holding herself a lot better and looked a lot more ‘compact’ as opposed to the strung out tank i had when i first started with him 4 months ago!! Was thrilled

Oh and not ONE refusal!!

Video on youtube, not sure why – spent about an hour making it and putting music to it etc and it is sooooo boring for everyone else – 4 minutes of d popping tiny jumps, but i watch it and want to cry because i love her so much!! Tragic!! i really need to get out more and find myself a man!!??? hahahaha!!

Haven’t been on here for a while, not sure why! Work work work and poo pick poo pick poo pick!!! With the odd ride in between!!

Brought D in on Sunday and she had a hideous overreach, not massive as such but quite a deep hole – yet just not quite deep enough for another vets call out! So decided to clean it up as best I could and get the blue antibiotic spray on it.

D isnt a great fan of water, but stood reasonably well whilst i rinsed the mud off her heels, but then I needed to the the overreach bit and her face was a picture FURIOUS!!! HOW DARE I touch her poorly foot???

She hopped around a bit, then hopped a bit more, turned her head round and knocked me over with her nose on my bottom. Tried to compose my dignity and started again, she stood on the hose so no water, all on three legs… when this didnt work and I INSISTED on carrying on she basically sprung straight up off all (three!) legs and landed straight on my foot, then did a lovely turn on the forehand just to crunch me into the concrete a little more, got stuck between me and a wall so i couldn’t push her off and then stood there smiling and sniffing for polos!!

The air turned blue as you can imagine, I have steel toe caps but she managed somehow to just do a perfect landed about 3mm below the edge of them!! Thats gratitude for you!!

After 4 days of numb but pain I decided to go to the docs, where i was told she has managed to twist my toe completely round!!!? I was wondering why my knuckle was on the side of my toe!? Strict instructions no riding for at least 3 weeks… of course i had a jumping lesson that night 🙂

Lack of posts due to holiday, first one in three years and a week before i go away D looks a bit ‘sad’, friends tell me to pull myself together, I have a niggle something is up. This was Tuesday. Wednesday her breathing is all over the place, no other signs of anything wrong – walked her round the school once and she was hyperventilating, put her in her box, and worried a lot decided to see how it was the next day … it was the same really puffing just standing in her box. Decided to call hot vet. Hot vet arrived and after full examination said it was weird but nothing physically wrong with her, all vitals normal. Took some bloods, D was an idiot and ended up getting a haematoma and so we spent the next ten minutes stemming the flow of blood!

Friday bloods come back clear, still weird breathing, saturday still weird breathing but otherwise all perky and fine. Sunday colicked really badly, vet comes out – no sign of colic??? Eating fine, poos fine, but clearly in pain, treated with painkillers etc but within 2 hours had to get him back out, talks of referring her ‘nothing more i can give her’ i am in bits wailing a lot (sound familiar) convinced she is a goner. He decides to pump her tummy with water. Sadly it wasnt hot vet but he wasnt bad looking so nice eye candy. AMAZING staff on yard sleep outside her box all night to check she is fine. Hottest of hot vets comes back out on monday and she is still mildly colicking (but no signs outwardly apart from pain) she is starving and kicking her door to shreds… treated again and it seems to subside. I have to go away with work so panic but leave.

Roll on two weeks she seems to be over her colic and had my first sit on her yesterday, but she is still breathing weirdly. They don’t know why but her oxygen saturation levels in her bloods are fine, so she is getting all she needs, there is no noise on her chest and all her airways are clear, so have been told to introduce work gradually and see what happens.